Do I ship it?

Games › Basketball › Basketball + Strategy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy Basketball game?

Basketball + Strategy

Of 20 developers who shipped a Strategy Basketball game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×85 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 20 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 20 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Basketball + Strategy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $1.7k → $1.6k → $1.3k (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Basketball + Strategy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,796)
Top 5% $127k (exactly $126,699)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 66
Announced 20
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 90% on the market, supply 240% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Basketball
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Basketball, Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sports, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Text-Based
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 651 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Basketball with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + PvPFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  2. + SimulationFair34 devs · median $1.3k · 31 announced
  3. + PhysicsLong shot19 devs · median $537 · 25 announced
  4. + Character CustomizationPoor odds12 devs · median $6.0k · 23 announced
  5. + Local MultiplayerPoor odds17 devs · median $3.9k · 7 announced
  6. + ManagementPoor odds16 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  7. + SportsPoor odds62 devs · median $1.3k · 63 announced
  8. + ActionPoor odds23 devs · median $1.2k · 32 announced
  9. + ArcadePoor odds31 devs · median $719 · 32 announced
  10. + AdventureDead8 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  11. + Immersive SimDead10 devs · median $3.6k · 13 announced
  12. + PlatformerDead9 devs · median $899 · 5 announced

All 12 pairs on the Basketball page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Pro Basketball Manager 2025 2024 · $127k Pro Basketball Manager 2026 2025 · $109k Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder 2025 · $108k Pro Basketball Manager 2024 2023 · $93k International Basketball Manager 23 2022 · $85k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pro Basketball Manager 2025 $24.99 169 68% 5.1k $127k (exactly $126,699) Umix Studios
Pro Basketball Manager 2026 $29.99 121 69% 3.6k $109k (exactly $108,864) Umix Studios
Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder $19.99 180 77% 5.4k $108k (exactly $107,946) Bigosaur
Pro Basketball Manager 2024 older $19.99 155 69% 4.7k $93k (exactly $92,954) Umix Studios
International Basketball Manager 23 older $14.99 188 85% 5.6k $85k (exactly $84,544) UPLAY Basketball
Pro Basketball Manager 2023 older $14.99 150 72% 4.5k $67k (exactly $67,455) Umix Studios
International Basketball Manager 22 older $9.99 218 86% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) UPLAY Basketball
Basketball Club Story older $8.99 184 71% 5.5k $50k (exactly $49,625) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Pro Basketball Manager 2022 older $9.99 102 73% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,569) Umix Studios
Trivia Vault Basketball Trivia older $13.99 69 71% 2.1k $29k (exactly $28,959) Ripknot Systems
International Basketball Manager 26 $19.99 37 72% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) UPLAY Basketball
Campus Legends College Basketball · EA $4.99 81 92% 2.4k $12k (exactly $12,126) Breakaway Interactive
Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2025 $24.99 15 66% 450 $11k (exactly $11,246) Wolverine Studios
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2026 $29.99 12 91% 360 $11k (exactly $10,796) Wolverine Studios
Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2026 $39.99 7 85% 210 $8.4k (exactly $8,398) Wolverine Studios
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2025 $29.99 9 88% 270 $8.1k (exactly $8,097) Wolverine Studios
College Basketball Manager · EA $9.99 20 100% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Lunacien

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.